I'm so excited to announce that "Gavin's Playground Project" is set for April 5, 2014! Save the date!! Hope and I have been a "two woman show" from the kitchen while Brian is at school - cold calling companies, going on meetings, and basically making magic happen. I'm telling you - this is going to be an awesome night.
Wondering what "Gavin's Playground Project" is all about? You can read about my vision in this post. But basically - here's the scoop:
The entire event is our way of marking the one year anniversary of Gavin's death - our way of honoring his life and his legacy.
Gavin spent a lot of time at Nemours A.I. DuPont Hospital for Children.
They never had a playground that was accessible for kids like Gavin.
I should have advocated for it harder when he was alive. I did ask (and got) a wheelchair swing on the playground, but never pushed for more.
Gavin died at DuPont.
Now that he's gone, I am determined to advocate for all the children left behind who can only watch while more able bodied children play on the current playground.
That has to change. And we're going to make it happen.
In an effort to "take back April" - I decided to host a fundraiser called "Gavin's Playground Project." All the proceeds will go to DuPont for their "Abilities Playground" fund. It's going to be such a fun night and I hope you can join us! I know it will be fun for me to see family and friends... and to put faces with the names I see on my pages every day online!
Here are the details so far:
Date - April 5, 2014
Hall E - across from Gavin and Brian's favorite place, Arnold's Family Fun Center!
Price - $25.00 per person for "early bird tickets" and $50.00 per person if you purchase your ticket after March 29th.
There will be a website for ticket purchase and event information. I am hoping it will be up and running so tickets can go on sale by next week. I will give a few days notice both here and on my Facebook Page before tickets go on sale.
** Please note that there will be NO tickets sold at the door. Everyone must buy their ticket online when it opens. For those that were hoping to buy tickets to set aside for nurses or teachers or "there in spirit" tickets - please make a donation straight to the hospital instead. Only those that are going to attend the event should buy a ticket or else it will get very confusing. **
Time - Doors will open at 5:30 for people to come in, register, find your assigned table, look at some of the silent auction and raffle items and get a drink from the cash bar. The silent auction will be going on at this time and through dinner. The dinner buffet will begin at 6pm.
Entertainment - The fun really begins at 8pm when Bill McMenamin from "McM Entertainment" begins a super fun and ultra competitive trivia event. Each table of ten is a team and only one table will be given the collective title of "Smarty Pants." He will also be playing some great tunes all evening.
Lodging - There are several hotels in the area for those coming from out of town and I am currently working on getting rooms blocked and discounted rates. One hotel will be a "suite hotel" for those who want to share the cost. Keep watching my blog for that information.
The theme of the evening is - open your wallets! There will be plenty of opportunities, big and small, to give to the playground project - and every dollar is gratefully accepted towards our goal. There is a dress code - and it is come as you are! If you want a night out and feel like getting dressed up - do it!! If you want to come in jeans because you dress up every day - do it!! I want everyone to feel happy that night. I will likely be in one of the two pairs of maternity pants that I wear over and over and over... let's be honest.
This will be such a unique night. If you think you've been to a silent auction... you haven't seen anything like we're planning! It will be a very unique, very fun and extremely interactive experience. Here are just some of the items that will be available for bidding - and I'm still on the hunt for more:
A "sit in" with a very popular morning radio show in Philadelphia.
An overnight to the "Great Wolf Lodge" in the Poconos.
A Disney World Vacation
A consultation with Gavin's nutritionist, Coralee Thompson
A trip to the 2015 Grammy Awards
A butcher block set of Cutco Knives
A free visit with Dr. Trish, Gavin's incredible energy healer.
And so, so much more - local, national and international gifts, events and experiences to bid on.
Sponsorships of all kinds - personal and corporate - are still available to make this night a huge success. See THIS post for the details at the bottom.
If you know you can't make the party and would like to donate directly to the hospital, please click HERE to get to their secure donation page. Under "donor designation" - select "abilities playground." You can make a designation note in memory of Gavin if you wish. The donation page only has options from $25.00 and up. If you would like to give less (any amount is generous - and every dollar counts!!) - you can click the donate button down the right side of my blog under "Gavin's Trust Project" and mark that it is for the playground. That money goes to me and I'll be sure to redirect it to the hospital. As of today, the hospital has received a thousand dollars from my readers for this playground. That's incredible.
Prefer to mail your donation? Write "Abilities Playground" in the memo of your check and mail to:
Joy Zernhelt
Development Coordinator
Nemours Fund for Children's Health
Shands House
1600 Rockland Road
Wilmington, DE 19803
Thank you, as always, for helping me make the impossible... possible.
going to try a couple of businesses I know to see if they would be willing to donate as well for your cause:)
ReplyDeleteHi, Could you explain why there will be assign seating? My friends and I will be going and I would want to sit with them.
ReplyDeleteHi Miranda - don't worry!! You'll sit with your friends. As long as when you (or your friends) wrote down who you want to sit with when you bought your tickets, you'll be fine. If you didn't, just email me through the blog and let me know who you want to sit with. The tables are in teams of ten so I need to create the tables of ten - that's all. It's for trivia. You will be with your friends. I won't sit you with my Aunt Helga. Just kidding. I don't have an Aunt Helga. ;-)
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